Following a second quarter 2018 pre-tariff run-up in the volume of steel used to manufacture cold-formed steel (CFS) framing products, the latest report by the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) finds that CFS manufacturing declined by 9 percent in the third quarter of 2018 to 273,682 total tons (raw tons before processing). Most companies surveyed in SFIA's US Nonresidential Volume Report indicated a belief that much of the inventory built up in the second quarter had largely worked through the system, and that manufacturing volume was beginning to tick up at the end of the third quarter.

The complete publication containing data and analysis, including results of a survey of market sentiment, is available at this Link.

About the Reports

The cold-formed steel stud industry is a good leading indicator of non-residential construction demand. Companies in the industry typically produce two major categories of materials, structural studs which are generally installed early in the process as the building shell is being built, and nonstructural studs which are typically used to frame interior walls and similar systems closer to the end of construction. Movements in manufacturing volumes of these products can provide some insight into the current stage of the market cycle.

This report provides buyers and users of cold-formed steel framing in the United States with an industry-wide statistical quarterly summary of the volume of steel (in raw tons before processing) used to produce studs, track, joists, angle, furring channel, hat channel, flat steel, Z furring, clips, purlins, girts, resilient channel, cold-rolled channel, cold-formed truss components, and special cold-formed shapes. Data is reported for four regions in the United States: West, North Central, South Central, and East.

Quarterly Nonresidential Volume Report, which offers the statistical summary along with comparative data for the nonresidential market, and indicators that provide a view of the prevailing sentiment in the market.

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Following a second quarter 2018 pre-tariff run-up in the volume of steel used to manufacture cold-formed steel (CFS) framing products, the latest report by the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) finds that CFS manufacturing declined by 9 percent in the third quarter of 2018 to 273,682 total tons (raw tons before processing). Most companies surveyed in SFIA's US Nonresidential Volume Report indicated a belief that much of the inventory built up in the second quarter had largely worked through the system, and that manufacturing volume was beginning to tick up at the end of the third quarter. The complete publication containing data and analysis, including results of a survey of market sentiment, is available at this Link.

The SFIA Contractor Certification, introduced in March is off to a strong start with the first two companies awarded certification for both Nonstructural and Structural framing and 20 additional companies currently in the certification process. This new certification, which promotes best practices and continuous improvement, will be promoted to general contractors and owners looking for contractors with CFS expertise, high levels of training, and quality assurance.

A Fire Service Professional’s ViewThe increased use of wood framing in mid-rise buildings has been accompanied by a growing incidence of major fires that have destroyed these combustible structures both during construction